Metal-bound shipping box



' Se t. 23. 1924.

E. CRAIG METAL BOUND SHIPPING BOX Filed Oct. 5, 1922 Patented Sept.'23, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE.

EDWARD CRAIG, OF ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO SARANAC AUTOMATIC MACHINE CORPORATION, OF BENTON HARBOR, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

METAL-BOUND SHIPPING BOX.

Application filed October 5, 1922. Serial No. 592,535.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD CRAIG, a Clti. zen of the United States, and resident of St. Joseph, Berrien County, Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Metal-Bound Shipping Boxes, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to metal bound boxes in general, but more particularly to those which comprise a flexible or foldable of the invention is to provide a novel andsatisfactory construction of box in which the contents may cause the cover to bulge @upward, as is the practice inpacking oranges and certain other commodities, and whereby the blanks and the end walls can be easily combined by the shipper or user, to form the boxes, whereby the person filling the box may very easily and securely close it by fastening the end portions of the metal binding in place, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

To the foregoing and other useful ends the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure l is a perspective of a metalboundshipping box embodying the pririci 4 ples of the invention, showingthe same filled and ready for transportation.

Figure 2 is a perspective of the dilferent elements of the box in separated condition, and illustrating how they are assembled to form the box.

Figure 3 is .an enlarged plan view of a section of the metal binding.

Figure 4 is a cross section of said metal binding.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises end walls 1 and 2 each having two of their edges provided with cleats 3 and 4, and these .cleats each have a tongue 5 at one Generally stated, the object of the inven-' oranges in so that the end and a groove 6 at the other end. The foldable blank which forms the bottom and sides of the box is composed of sheets 7, 8 and 9 flexibly connected together by the metal binding 10, the sheets or sections 7 and 9 being provided with cleats 11 and 12 formed with tongue and groove ends to engage and interlock with the similarly formed ends of the cleats 3 and a previously mentioned. In this way the end walls 1 and 2 are held in place when the blank is folded around them, and nails or staples or other fastening devices ma be inserted, if desired, to hold the parts in these positions while the box is being filled through its open top. A middle wall or partition 13 is provided to extend transversely of the box at the point about midway of the two ends thereof. Nails or staples can be inserted with a hammer, from the outside, through. the sheets 7, 8 and 9 to hold this partition 13 in place.

After the box is filled, as by crowding the extend above the open top of the box, t e cover 14 is then secured in place. This cover comprlses a single sheet of veneer, for example, such as the material from which the other sides and the bottom of the box are made. A strip 15 of metal binding extends across the cover and may be secured thereto or may be left loose until after the cover is applied to the box. The cover is placed in position and bent down at its ends, and these ends are then seeured in place by folding over the end portions of the metal binding 10, and

by inserting nails through these end portions and through the cover and into the cleats 3 previously mentioned. Then the end portions of the strip of metal binding 15 are bent down and nails are inserted through the end ortions and into the partition 13 previous y mentioned, all as shown in Figure 1, thereby providinga strong and comparatively inexpensive shipping package for oranges or. other commodltles. The setting up of the box is all done from the outside, as it will be seen, and the cover is easily and securely fastened in place when the box is filled.

The metal binding is preferably .of the form shown in the drawings, comprising strap metal with the edges 16 thereof bent the points of the staples or nails will be held against slipping sidewise by the corrugations and the edges 16 of the binding, so

that staples or nails can be inserted either by machinery or by hand with 'a hammer. Furthermore, this binding is very strong and makes the box capable of holding a heavy load without danger of coming apart or breaking. In the manufacture of the different parts of the box, the strips 10 of-binding are preferably stapled to the foldable blank, and the strip 15 can be stapled to the cover 14. The shipper or user, however, after the box is filled, may prefer to use ordinary nails in closing the box in the manner described.

Of course, if necessary, instead of inserting nails or staples to hold the box together while being filled, a form can be used in which the box may be held until after it is loaded and closed by the securing of the cover in place. It will be understood, however, that any suitable or desired expedient can be employed for keeping the box parts in their proper positions while the box is being filled and before the cover is fastened down. As stated, the strip 15 can be secured to the cover 14, before the latter is applied to the box, or the strips 15 for the various boxes can be supplied separately and can be simply nailed at their ends to the partition 13 after the box is filled. As previously stated, because of the interlocking of the cleats on the blank with the cleats on the end walls, the nailing of the end portions of the strips 10 through the cover andto the cleats 3, and the nailing of the end portions of the strips 15 to the partition 13, will hold the box together. However, if additional strength is required, nails or staples can be inserted, after the box is loaded, through the bottom 8 into the cleats 4, and at-various other points, should this be necessary or desirable. In any event, when either nails or staples are inserted, corrugations 17 facilitate the perforation of the sheet metal, inasmuch as these corrugations cooperate with the edges 16 to keep the points of the nails or staples from slipping sidewise and thereby help to make it possible to drive the nails or staples either by machinery or by hand with an ordinary hammer.

It will be seen that the metal strapping comprises a strap which is practically entirely fiat on its bottom surface, so that it will lie absolutely flat and tightly hug the outer surface of the box, as shown in Figure 4, and it will be seen that the bottom surface 17 is flat clear across, and that the entire strap will racticall lie flatwise and tightly hug t e box. I n this way, the strap cannot stretch when bent around the box, or when subjected to pressure from within, and it will press in at the corners of the box and be tight all around.

Thus it will-be seen, that the means for forming the blank from which the bottom and sides are made exclude the cover 14 and its transverse attaching member 15, the projecting ends of which attaching member serve to fasten the cover down with more or less bulge at the middle thereof. It will also be seen that the corrugated portion of the. binding members, as shown-in Figs. 3 and 4, and of the attaching member 15, extends under the folded over edge portions 16 of the strap metal thus formed, this being an easy and satisfactory. way to make the strap metal, but the metal binding may be of any suitable known or approved character, inasmuch as the cover which forms no part of the foldable blank may be fastened at its middle by a transverse attaching member having projecting ends of any suitable or desired character. The cover can be entirely removed, when the box is open, and the cover may have any desired degree of upward bulge, within limits, of course, when it is secured in place. i

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a metal-bound box structure for oranges or the like, a plurality of sheets and cleats and metal binding members forming a blank, end walls for the box, partition means to divide the box transversely at the middle toform two compartments, when the blank is folded to form the bottom and sides of the .box, a separate flexible cover for the top, and cover attaching means including a transverse metal attaching member for the middle of the cover, in the plane of said partition means, with the opposite ends of this attaching member projecting a distance beyond the edge of the cover and serving to fasten down the cover with more or less upward bulge at the middle thereof, and whereby the means to form the blank exclude said cover and said attaching mem ber thereof.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, said attaching member being a metal strap with v transverse corrugation to permit stapling or nailing thereof to the box, and said bindingmember being of similar character for cover attaching means including the end gated strap metal having folded over portions of said metal binding members smooth edge portions, with the corrugated whereb the ends of said cover are fastened middle portion extending under said ed e 10 down tight on the box. portions, whereby thebinding and attac 5 5. A structure as specified in claim 1, said mg members are prevented from stretching. binding members and said attaching memher being formed of transversely corruv EDWARD CRAIG. 

